Thursday, April 26, 2007

The Tram


I was in Portland on Tuesday and I got to ride on the new OHSU Tram twice. I know all the people who were against this tram and their reasons, but all in all, it was pretty freakin cool. What a cool job for the operator. It’s like a helicopter ride with out the danger.

Anyone who is a roofer in Portland who is looking for work should ride the tram.

The “Wow Factor” of that ride is amazing. It exposes how beautiful Portland is, even the highways are beautiful. It shows how beautiful the architecture is. It shows how beautiful trees are when you gaze down upon them. This tram is one of the wonders of Portland.

16 Comments:

Blogger Me. Here. Right now. said...

I absolutely love Portland--and if I can ever figure out how to convince the person who has my job in our office there to leave, I'm there in a heartbeat.

6:35 AM  
Blogger The Guy Who Writes This said...

Lori, There is a great sense of community here in Oregon. I hope to welcome you some day.

8:06 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I still wonder all the good that 55 million could have done if was used elsewhere...instead of a playtoy for Portland's elite....

10:57 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

cool!!...I spent of a lot of my growing up time in the West Hills and am very familiar with the breathtaking views-I havnt even been to the city since the tramway went online...I must go and ride it.

11:59 AM  
Blogger The Guy Who Writes This said...

Wow TH, thanks for addressing me as Portland's elete. Actually I didn't see any elete on my two rides. They were mostly staff and people who had appointments to keep.

The thing is that OHSU had to expand and they ran out of room on the hill so they built a massive 16-story building down by the river where they provide patient services. The only way to further expand on the hill would be to eliminate parking structures, meaning everyone would have to take public transportation to the hill. I think it is a very good solution to their growth needs. Though 55 mil seems expensive now, in ten years it will seem like a deal.

F Lee, you must!

12:17 PM  
Blogger Mel said...

I dislike heights pretty strongly; still, I'm kind of hyping myself up to go ride the tram at least one time, just so that I can see the city from that perspective.
And take lots of pictures.
Hey, next time you're in town, fire me off an e-mail. We'll get a cup of coffee or something.

12:20 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Cool! I used to live not far from there many years ago and loved the area. Havent been back for a visit in probably 10 years.

Maybe I should just for that big old 'Burlingame Bungee' Ride.

2:40 PM  
Blogger The Guy Who Writes This said...

Mel, will do. I may be teaching a class in Lake O next month and I could swing by. I'll keep you posted.

Remember it's free to go down but they charge $4 to go back up. BTW where is Burlingame? I have no idea where that is?

3:24 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I..

Comment deleted
This post has been removed by the blog administrator.

8:10 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Burlingame is the name that the area that the tram travels over used to be known as. Perhaps it still is.

Guy - what the f$%k did Gearhead say?

8:20 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks, Auntie!
Before Guy reads this and deletes it, I just want to say my piece on the tram.
HELP!!! HELP!!!

9:57 PM  
Blogger The Guy Who Writes This said...

I did not delete anything. Gearhead now deletes any comment he's sure will piss me off and blames it on me. This has been going on for quite a while, though he hasn't done it since last September or so.

5:59 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

wHy Comment?

12:36 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Life and death on the tram. A patient doesn't make it in time to ob-gyn, imagine the future, "I was born on the tram". A patient doesn't make in time to cardiac care. Imagine the news: "Death on the Tram". There is still time to make it look like a Lady Bug, just a lot of big dots. And then, I also expect at some point for Tram tagging to be the rage. Tramtag, tramrage, tramlove, trampdown, tramatized, tramluscent, trama............

2:11 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yeah, remember when the Max train when it first was operational killed like several people. It was known locally as the 'death Max'.

9:48 PM  
Blogger Undercover Mother said...

It's running? Wow! Next time we go to Portland we are SO going there!

Reminds me of both the Skybuckets at Disneyland and the Tram to San Jacinto above Palm Springs.

I think it's pretty freakin' cool, and if you ask me, they've spent 1000 times that much per year (nationally) on stuff I don't think is cool, so I have no problems with it.

TH: Blue Eyes, they should have thought about throwing money at the elite when they started that sinkhole called Iraq.

10:01 PM  

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